Festive 4th of July Dessert Recipes

Citrus-Berry Tart

A crisp shortbread crust holds orange pastry cream in this recipe from Allison Gnade and Thomas Agran of Burrowing Owl Bakery, who have established themselves as a fixture at Iowa City's downtown farmers market. They would scatter the berries casually on top, but we couldn't resist stripes.

Fruit Hand Pies

Our flaky hand pies taste just like their big sibs, but they're tidier to serve and eat, making them perfect for picnics and potlucks. Best of all, you get to choose the fruit filling: cherry, blueberry peach or plum!

Cherry-Berry Shortcake Stars

Tossing the cherries and blueberries with a little sugar draws out the juices. The sweet syrup is a perfect complement to the flaky, sconelike shortcakes. The dough for these shortcakes will be sticky. To easily cut out the star shapes, dip the cutter in flour between each cut.

Blueberry-Coconut Pavlova

When Kristin Rosenau (thepastryaffair.com) discovered her lactose intolerance, she had to get creative in her Bismarck kitchen. The result: Desserts like Blueberry-Coconut Pavlova, a crispy-chewy pillow of meringue topped with whipped coconut milk and blueberry sauce.

Red, White and Blue Parfaits

Pour a syrup of honey, sugar and crystallized ginger over blueberries, watermelon, and strawberries, then top with a swirl of sweetened whipped cream and a fruit star for a pretty—and patriotic—finish.

Cherry Almond Cake

Erin Mahoney's Cherry Almond Cake is the kind of towering, old-fashioned layer cake you expect to see wearing a blue ribbon at the state fair. The KC blogger (lemon-sugar.com) relies on a boxed mix for fluffy texture but adds scads of sour cream, maraschinos and almond extract to make it her own.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Frosting for a cause? Sold. Chicago's Cupcakes for Courage food truck donates 10 percent of proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and other nonprofits. Their 50-plus flavors include this stunner, a White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake topped with a voluptuous swirl of worth-the-effort Swiss meringue buttercream.

Blueberry Sour Cream Dessert

Red Velvet Sundae Jars

These sundaes are more than just another excuse to ride the Mason jar wave. There's genius under that screw-top, thanks to inspiration from Silver Lining Creamery in Rapid City. Bake the cake batter in the jars; pile ice cream, fudge and nuts on top; then stash them in the freezer to serve later. They're perfect for serving at outdoor parties in large silver tubs filled with ice.

Watermelon stars

Use a 2- to 3-inch star-shape cookie cutter to make stars from watermelon slices, then serve stars by themselves, on a platter with fruit and cheese, or in a dessert like our easy Red, White and Blue Parfaits.

Raw Brownie and Greek Yogurt Parfaits

The bittersweet crumbles on these nutrient-packed parfaits are actually a gluten-free blend of nuts, dates and cocoa. That's because Alex and Sonja Overhiser have a particular soft spot for sweets with a better-for-you streak. At acouplecooks.com, the Indianapolis couple blogs about wholesome, mostly vegetarian cooking.

Yogurt-Berry Jelly Squares

The idea for these mosaiclike Yogurt-Berry Jelly squares (aka wiggly, jiggly bites of happiness) came from Faith Durand's cookbook Bakeless Sweets. The Columbus writer is executive editor of the massively popular website thekitchn.com (and co-author of the new The Kitchn Cookbook).

Cherry Phosphate Icebox Pie

A humble pie if you ever saw one, this unassuming potluck star has an almondy crust and a yogurt-based filling that mimics the acidic tang of a phosphate. Amaretti (Italian almond cookies) are available at large supermarkets. You can substitute graham cracker crumbs.

Caramel and Chocolate Kettle-Corn Crispie Bars

This sweet-salty bar cookie won the grand prize of $10,000 in our first annual Best of the Midwest® Recipe Contest. Judy Reynolds of Bloomington, Indiana, started with a Hoosier staple—popcorn—and stirred together these snack bars. Homemade caramel sauce makes them a standout.

Light Berry Pie with Creamy Filling

Ingredients like fat-free Greek yogurt and low-calorie cranberry-raspberry drink—plus six cups of fresh berries—keep this delightful dessert on the light side. Garnish with mint sprigs or a lemon cream sauce.

Red, White and Blueberry Ice Cream Dessert

Double-Berry Sammies

If you're the kid who requested the corner slice of birthday cake (with roses!), these ultrasweet Double-Berry Sammies are for you. Crispy sugar cookies sandwich strawberry buttercream and blueberry jam. The recipe comes from Christy Augustin of St. Louis Pint Size Bakery and Coffee. (Yes, it's as tiny and cute as the name would indicate.)

Mixed Berry Slab Pie

Floral notes from lemon zest, thyme and honey round out the sweet-tart punch of ripe berries in this creation from Shelly Cross and Jill Long of Madison's Humble Sweet and Savory Pies bake shop. Shelly and Jill have some mad pastry skills; amateurs can get creative, too, with the extra dough.